Sprauve School fourth graders enjoying a free I Scream after picking up 50 pounds of beach trash, part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup this month.

Government officials, including Gov. John deJongh, broke ground Monday on what will be the first federal stimulus money-funded road project in the Virgin Islands, and it’s a big one.

A $4 million, nine month long project will repair and repave 2.8 miles of South Shore Road, officially Route 104.

“We’re expecting to start work as soon as next week,” Department of Public Works commissioner Darryl Smalls told us.  “Motorists can expect delays and interruptions, but at the end of the day we will have significant safety improvements.

It’s great news. The road is a real mess.

The Cruz Bay roundabout is really very close to being a roundabout now.

There is still some driver confusion. A flagman is sometimes there directing traffic, sometimes not. Sometimes there are two of them.

And there’s a stop sign in the circle that doesn’t belong there. If you’re in the circle, you’re supposed to have the right-of-way. You can drive round and round all day without stopping if you want.

After resurfacing the tennis courts, Mario has taken his magic touch to the nearby basketball court.  An appreciative player sinks an easy three.

Meet Nile and Courtney Wright, newlyweds from Texas who are getting ready to open St. John’s newest restaurant… tentatively named Cactus Blue.

The couple, married six months ago, leased the former Stone Terrace space and are preparing to serve what Nile describes as “eclectic Mexican.”

“It won’t be like a traditional Mexican restaurant. We are working on the menu now, which will be more upscale Mexican and that means being creative,” Nile says. “But we also know people are looking for value, and when plates arrive at the table we want our diners to say ‘That’s a lot of food.’”

The restaurant business is in Nile’s blood. His family owns Jacala, which calls itself San Antonio’s oldest family-owned Mexican restaurant, and Nile’s own successes include businesses in Austin.

“We’re also going to have some fun with the bar,” Courtney says. “We’ll do things like Mexican martinis that come with full shakers and really good margaritas. I haven’t found a really good margarita down here.”

The restaurant will seat as many diners as the old Stone Terrace did. They are working on some new entrance landscaping and currently plan to open sometime in early or mid-November.  “There is no rush. We want to make sure everything is right,” says Nile.

These guys say they’re in listening mode right now.  What would you like to see on the menu?

Crews are busy working on a project to replace the block long and ugly chain link fence at the Cruz Bay Creek.  The new fencing, piled up and ready to go, looks like the black fencing at the ferry dock.

This will look a lot better. And you can sleep better knowing there will be one less place for terrorists to sneak in.

You know it is a slow news day when three different tipsters come up to us and say “Did you hear about the new widescreen TVs at Woody’s?”

And sure enough. There they are.  It’s a slow news day. But they’re nice TVs!

We couldn’t help but notice longtime St. John visitor Robert Meyers’ vacation group snorkeling with dive flags on their snorkels on a recent Palm Tree Charters outing.

Robert, aka CariBert on travel forums, says they started doing it a few years ago.

“When we go out snorkeling, we found that we were just some of many one horned butt fish out there and it was difficult to keep up with each other,” he tells us. “We found these flags a few years ago at a dive shop and thought ‘What a hoot!’, so we bought them and now we know exactly where each other is when we’re out among the hordes of snorkelers.”

Confirmed: After sitting empty for more than a year and a half, a lease has been signed and a new restaurant will be opening in the old Stone Terrace Restaurant space soon.

The new operator is busy setting up shop and plans a grand Opening next month.

We’ll give you the full story later this week.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of one of the worst hurricanes ever to hit the Virgin Islands. Hugo ripped through the islands as a Category 5 hurricane on September 17, 1989. It is still referred to as one of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded.

Weather Underground’s Jeff Masters has been recounting a personal history of the storm, and it’s good reading.

This is not our usual cheery subject matter, but the archives are dominated by St. Croix, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico’s recovery.

If you have any pictures from St. John’s Hugo aftermath, we’d like to share them. Send them to us, here. Or, post your own stories, below.

Popular Cruz Bay restaurant The Lime Inn is getting a new look. Owners Rich and Chris Meyer are taking advantage of a little down time to make some changes, which include the concrete columns you see formed up here. Four columns will be topped with a big trellis and lots of plants.

“We think it will make the entrance more inviting as you walk by on the street, and make you want to come up and have a drink at the bar,” Chris tells us. “You’ll feel like you’re walking into a garden setting.”

Chris and Rich have owned the restaurant since 1984…when it had six tables and a tiny bar in the back. They’ve made several changes over the years, but Chris says this is their first major addition in about five years.

This is Mario Mason. He works for Caribbean Courts on St. Croix and travels all around the Caribbean re-surfacing sports courts, and St. John is on his list this week.

In addition to resurfacing, the Cruz Bay tennis courts are getting new paint and new lights. The project is being funded by the Department of Housing, Parks & Recreation.

Mario’s next stop?  Just around the corner, at the basketball court.